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To this day, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is still the only film in the history of Chinese cinema to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Zen chivalrous story portrayed in the movie has been a jianghu in the hearts of countless people.
After 20 years, everyone in the film has gone in a different direction: some people have experienced the death of their best friends, some people have fallen into the trough of life, and some people have gradually faded from the public eye...
In the rivers and lakes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the only constant was the green bamboo and green martial forest.
In 2001, at the 73rd Academy Awards, Ang Lee probably did not expect to win the award.
When the guest of honor announced that the best foreign language film was won by the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Ang Lee, 47, realized that he had just won the first little golden man in his life.
Throughout the acknowledgment process, he stared nervously at the crumpled little note in his hand—he hadn't even memorized the acceptance speech.
Ang Lee delivering an acceptance speech at the 73rd Academy Awards (2001)
For a long time before that, Ang Lee had lived a confused and undesirable life, and the obscure time of the early invasion of the United States had made him unable to see tomorrow for a while.
As for success, Ang Lee did not dare to think about it.
Until this night, the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was nominated 10 times and won 4 awards, becoming the well-deserved focus of the night.
Ang Lee did not expect that one of his "thoughts" at the beginning would eventually put the "Chinese light" above his head on the altar.
Ang Lee did not expect that in the days to come, he would climb over one mountain after another and become one of the most famous directors in the Chinese-speaking world.
And all the rest of the peak has to start from the beginning, and the beginning of the story has to go back to 1999.
In 1999, the 20-year-old Zhang Ziyi had just finished filming Zhang Yimou's "My Father and Mother", and was nominated for the 20th Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress with the role of "Zhao Di" in the film, and her debut was highly anticipated.
Immediately after that, she was asked by Gao Xiaosong to be the female number one of "When the Flowers Bloomed". She liked the role setting very much, and whenever she had time, she rode her bicycle to the crew to discuss the script with the creator.
Film My Father and Mother (1999)
Seeing that the movie was about to start shooting, Zhang Ziyi, who was still full of interest in the role before, looked embarrassed, and she said to Gao Xiaosong: Ang Lee asked herself to play the second female in a martial arts film.
At that time, Ang Lee was already a famous director who won the Berlin Golden Bear Award twice, and Gao Xiaosong understood that for an actress, this may be a turning point for changing the future, and he almost did not hesitate to send Zhang Ziyi to Ang Lee's crew.
Before leaving, Gao Xiaosong glanced at the field note board on the table - the title: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Before Zhang Ziyi, Ang Lee had already set another female lead - Yang Ziqiong.
Yang Ziqiong, who played Yu Xiulian in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
That year, Yang Ziqiong, who had acted in many movies, never became popular, and even starred in the "007 series" and became the first Asian state girl, which did not arouse much splash.
Ang Lee once said of Yang Ziqiong in his autobiography: "In terms of acting, Yang Ziqiong is a special case I have seen. From the film for many years, but did not act in any good drama, so they are already big stars, and there is that innocence. She has a childlike innocence and curiosity, like a lifetime of waiting for this role (Yu Xiulian). ”
In addition to the female protagonist, the boy who played the supporting actor "Luo Xiaohu", Zhang Zhen, initially held the mentality of "coming to play".
Prior to this, he starred in Hou Xiaoxian's "Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street" and Wong Kar-wai's "Spring Break", although he contributed remarkable performances in these excellent works, Zhang Zhen never fell in love with acting.
Zhang Zhen in "Juvenile Murder Incident on Muling Street" (1991)
Zhang Zhen in "Spring Breaks" (1997)
In today's terms, the heroine and male support of this movie at that time could not bring too much "traffic". In this way, the most famous in the film is only Zhou Runfa, who has a place in the Asian film circle.
But what is slightly embarrassing is that this is his first costume drama - whether it is shaving his head and reciting lines in Mandarin or wearing a robe to do martial arts, it is a first for Zhou Runfa.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in Which Ang Lee speaks to Zhou Runfa (1999)
Zhou Runfa practicing swordplay (1999)
Coincidentally, like Chow Yun-fat, this is also director Ang Lee's first costume play.
At that time, Ang Lee was 46 years old, and although he had won two Golden Bear Awards for "Wedding Banquet" and "Sense and Sensibility", he always lacked a god-honored work, and he was still only defined as a "Chinese director filming in the United States" in the industry.
Ang Lee photo when he was young
In 1994, during the filming of "Eating Men and Women", he read the original novel of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and the martial arts described in the book planted seeds in his heart, and finally in 1999, he started the camera as he wished.
Even though in Li An's heart, the story of the green bamboo and green martial arts in the novel has been staged countless times, but it really takes a lot of effort to bring it to the big screen.
The staff on the set once recalled: "The process of shooting "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" can make Ang Lee live for five years. ”
During the eight-month-long shooting, Ang Lee sat in front of the monitor day and night, with his "neurotic" pickiness, controlling the whole scene: from the actor's lines and actions, to the actor's eyebrow shape and hair ornaments, Ang Lee did everything.
Ang Lee on the shooting scene of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (1999)
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" filming scene Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Runfa in the scene of the scene
On the set, the director's anxiety and anxiety deepened, and the actors emerged in an endless stream.
Yang Ziqiong, who is the most capable of playing in the crew, was injured in the first week of filming: two large ligaments in her left leg were torn off, and she needed surgery and rest for a month.
Behind the most classic bamboo forest drama between Zhou Runfa and Zhang Ziyi is the two-week-long "high-altitude hanging Weiya".
At the beginning, Zhou Runfa would joke with everyone and ask everyone if he was "Yushu Linfeng", and later he began to eat gradually.
Behind the Scenes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Zhou Runfa and Zhang Ziyi (1999)
And Zhang Ziyi is even worse, in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the "Jade Jiaolong" she plays is a rich lady with strong martial arts, and she fights softly and rigidly.
Zhang Ziyi, who studied dance, did not have too much experience in martial arts drama, and there was no beauty or strength in swinging a sword, and the martial arts instructor often said to her: "How can you fight like this, like a girl."
Zhang Ziyi was puzzled, she was originally a girl.
Nowadays, it seems that "Yujiaolong" is one of the most important roles in Zhang Ziyi's acting career, but at that time, Zhang Ziyi was not the most suitable "Yujiaolong" in Li Anxin.
In Li An's heart, Yu Jiaolong should be tough and strong inside, while the 20-year-old Zhang Ziyi is obviously not tough enough.
So even though she has entered the group, Ang Lee is still constantly interviewing new actors, and Zhang Ziyi sees all this in her eyes.
Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Some people once commented that Zhang Ziyi was: ambition is written on the face, and pride is carved in the bones.
The more she was not recognized, the more she had to prove herself.
She became a "nail household" stationed next to the martial arts instructor, and she practiced every move and style needed in the movie a hundred times. The fingernails that were knocked off by the weapon did not say a word, and put his hand into the snow and ice, and continued to shoot.
But even so, Ang Lee was stingy with praise for her.
Behind the scenes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Zhang Ziyi is practicing with a martial arts instructor
19 years later, Zhang Ziyi recalled this time: "At that time, every day I was like a prisoner, more of a mental torture. ”
"Director Ang Lee will encourage Ziqiong, encourage Zhou Runfa, I will deliberately finish work 20 minutes late every day, I am waiting there, expecting the director to praise me, but not once."
Zhang Zhen, the "Luo Xiaohu" who played with Zhang Ziyi, later recalled: Zhang Ziyi often sat in the house by himself, thinking without a word, immersed in the role, and the whole aura was very strong, which made him feel incredible.
Stills from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Zhen
Unlike Zhang Ziyi, the 23-year-old Zhang Zhen is not from a science class, and acting is just a fun thing for him.
Before filming began, he only had a cup of coffee with director Ang Lee and received the script.
The original shooting location was in Xinjiang, where Zhang Zhen felt unprecedented freedom: "When I saw the desert, my jaw dropped, there was no cover around, and I felt that the world was mine." ”
With this idea, in the subsequent shooting, Zhang Zhen became the actor with the best mentality of the crew: whether it was riding a horse or playing a scene, he was full of curiosity about everything.
In this way, Ang Lee led the actors to fight for a full eight months, from Urumqi at 40 degrees to Beijing at -13 degrees, and after the shooting, everyone was like a layer of skin.
Behind the Scenes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (1999)
At the end of 1999, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was completed as scheduled.
At the feast, Ang Lee hugged Zhang Ziyi for the first time, saying that he had not praised it deliberately, because Yu Jiaolong needed a "tenacity": "However, Ziyi, you are doing very well." ”
Zhang Ziyi, who heard these words, cried loudly, and the grievances that had lasted for eight months broke out at this moment.
At this time, no one expected that their lives were slowly deflected.
Crew of the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (1999)
In early 2000, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon completed its final editing efforts, before the Cannes Film Festival.
The film subverts the long-standing convention of "heavy martial arts" in martial arts movies, integrates martial arts and culture, and takes the sword to the side, and has been rated by Chinese film critics as "a martial arts film for foreigners to see".
But for foreign audiences, whether they can understand the large-scale Chinese elements in the film, Li An has no bottom in his heart.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon crew walks the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival (2000)
On May 16, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon premiered in Cannes. When Zhang Ziyi and Yang Ziqiong flew over the eaves of the movie, the audience erupted into a slight laugh, which was really pediatric compared to Hollywood special effects.
Until Zhang Ziyi and Yang Ziqiong began to fight with real materials, the field gradually became quiet, and no one said another word.
A clip from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
"After the movie was over, the applause rang for a long time, and you knew that the movie was successful, and Ang Lee was successful."
At that moment, Ang Lee turned over the mountain and began to look down the mountain from the peak of the layer.
Although "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has become a landmark existence of Chinese films, the arc of light brought by the film has not radiated to the next life of each lead actor.
In addition to Ang Lee, zhou Runfa was also sent to the top by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But in the years since, Chow Yun-fat has begun to slow down, appearing only occasionally in the form of cameos in the film.
Chow Yun-fat, who faded out of the screen, appeared on the side of the paving in kowloon's urban area and became "Mr. Chow, a Hong Kong citizen". Chatting with vendors and grocery shopping with his wife, he began to look for a work-life balance.
Zhou Runfa buys vegetables at the market
Until 2006, he connected two new films, one was "Full of Golden Armor in the City" with Gong Li, and the other was "Auntie's Postmodern Life" with Zhao Wei and Si Qinggaowa.
Gong Li and Zhou Runfa in "The Golden Armor in the City" (2006)
"Auntie's Postmodern Life"
Chow Yun-fat and Schenkova (2006)
At the same time that Zhou Runfa and the movies that once belonged to him are gradually drifting apart, Yang Ziqiong seems to have lost her former glory - the best friend who once illuminated her life has suddenly passed away.
In 2003, Hong Kong singer Mui Yanfang died of cancer.
When Mei Yanfang was dying, Yang Ziqiong rushed to the hospital to accompany her on her last journey.
This pair of friends who have known each other for more than ten years have supported each other through the highs and lows of each other's lives: Yang Ziqiong's Chinese is not good, Mei Yanfang will explain it for her word by word, and when Mei Yanfang encounters life problems, the first person to ask for help is Yang Ziqiong.
Yang Ziqiong once said that if the gender is different, she will definitely fall in love with Mei Yanfang.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" premiered as Mei Yanfang on Yang Ziqiong's platform (2000)
Things are uncertain and life is unpredictable. This pair of friends broke up on the way in life.
Mei Yanfang once said that among all the heroines, she liked Yang Ziqiong the most.
At Mei Yanfang's funeral, Yang Ziqiong finally made a friend's "chivalrous girl" - breaking the tradition of women not supporting the coffin, and together with Andy Lau, Liang Chaowei, Tao Zhe and eight other people to send off Mei Yanfang's spirit. Accompanied her on the last journey of her life.
Mei Yanfang at her farewell concert in 2003
Later, in an interview, the host asked Yang Ziqiong when she last had a heartbreak, and she said: It was when Mei Yanfang died.
At this time, 16 years have passed since Mei Yanfang's death, and when talking about her former friends, Yang Ziqiong is still in tears.
She said: I miss her so much.
Yang Ziqiong talked about Mei Yanfang on the show
Different from the relatively bumpy life path of its predecessors, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has become a springboard for newcomers Zhang Zhen and Zhang Ziyi.
In those years, Zhang Zhen made many movies, acted in the love movie "The Best Time" with Shu Qi, and also had a place in the blockbuster "2046" that gathered Liang Chaowei, Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi and Liu Jialing, with co-directors from Wong Kar-wai to Hou Xiaoxian, shooting genres from romance to comedy.
But the strange thing is that the fire man is not hot, and everyone sees his face and still can't remember what his name is.
Shu Qi and Zhang Zhen in the movie "The Best Of Times" (2005)
Zhang Zhen's mentality is as good as ever: "If I do it very extremely in two or three years, I may get bored quickly, so this is not necessarily a bad thing." ”
For Zhang Zhen, going slower is a good thing.
Zhang Zhen
While Zhang Zhen was busy creating romance in romance films, Zhang Ziyi plunged headlong into martial arts films.
In the same year that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was released, Zhang Ziyi got the role of female thug Hu Li in the Hollywood blockbuster "Rush Hour 2" starring Jackie Chan.
Jackie Chan and Zhang Ziyi in the movie "Rush Hour 2" (2000)
The following year, her co-production with The Korean film emperor Ahn Sung-ki's "Samurai" was released in South Korea, and Zhang Ziyi's international fame grew, and gradually, the media began to call her "International Chapter".
The "International Chapter", which has been soaring all the way, has continuously consolidated her position in the film industry: "Ten Faces Ambush" cooperated with Andy Lau won the Huabiao Award for Outstanding Actress, and "2046" made her win the Academy Award.
Jin Chengwu and Zhang Ziyi in the movie "Ten Faces Ambush" (2004)
Liang Chaowei and Zhang Ziyi in the movie "2046" (2004)
At the peak, she met her "old friend" - Yang Ziqiong.
In 2005, Zhang Ziyi collaborated again with Yang Ziqiong in "Memoirs of a Geisha".
Time is like a reincarnation. In the fifth year after the release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the two became sisters again, but the names were changed from "Yu Xiulian" and "Yu Jiaolong" to "Ma yumi" and "Xiao Lily".
Yang Ziqiong and Zhang Ziyi in the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" (2005)
In the movie, the "Little Lily" played by Zhang Ziyi is delicate, and the "True Yumei" played by Yang Ziqiong is intellectually generous, and the light of the two people together even overshadows Gong Li in the play.
Gong Li's classic fan-throwing shot in the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha"
With this film, Zhang Ziyi was shortlisted for the 63rd Golden Globe Awards, and that year Ang Lee was nominated for best director for "Brokeback Mountain", and the two reunited at the award ceremony.
Zhang Ziyi and Ang Lee at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards (2006)
After only six years of separation, the little girl who hid from the side and shed tears because she couldn't shoot a good scene grew up and became an international superstar who could stand on the world stage.
Ang Lee later talked about meeting Zhang Ziyi again in his autobiography: like his own child suddenly grew up, he was like a world away in an instant, and he felt a lot.
In the film industry, director Ang Lee is famous for "torturing" actors.
Zhang Ziyi once commented that Ang Lee in the filming was "kind and cruel": he treated everything related to the film and pursued the ultimate.
In 2006, filming of the movie "Color Ring" began. Ang Lee asked lead actor Liang Chaowei to lose 8 kilograms, and he must speak Mandarin with a precise southern accent before filming, and not a point can be worse.
Tang Wei and Liang Chaowei in the movie "Color Ring" (2007)
In addition to the appearance and accent requirements, Liang Chaowei plays "Mr. Yi" as a thoughtful and dark character. Liang Chaowei once said in an interview that playing "Mr. Yi" once made him a little schizophrenic.
After the film was filmed, Liang Chaowei played the role of Zhuge Liang in the movie "Chibi" - he needed more time to get out of the role.
Because Of Ang Lee's "torture" Liang Chaowei gave up "Chibi", it is very dramatic that Zhang Zhen, who was once "tortured" by Ang Lee to the uphill road, took down Sun Quan in "Chibi".
Over the years, Zhang Zhen's figure has often appeared in some foreign films, from South Korean director Kim Ki-duk's "Breathing" to Japanese director Xingdung-hoon's "Disappearing in the Far Sky", he polished his acting skills in different cultural contexts.
Zhang Zhen in the movie "Breathe" (2007)
Zhang Zhen is 30 years old, and with the growth of age, as well as his increasingly broad drama path, at this time he is like a flowing liquid, and can be put into different containers when working with different directors.
When he appeared in the movie "Chibi", there were more stories between his eyebrows, and the whole person was more stretched, and Sun Quan, who he played, interpreted what is called "silent ambition".
Zhang Zhen in the movie "Chibi" (2008)
It is from this play that he has fallen into the name of a "school bully" in the show business circle.
There is a passage about Zhang Zhen circulating: "When filming "Chibi", he was familiar with the Three Kingdoms in order to play Sun Quan; he remembered the history of the Republic of China in the filming of "The Great Cause of Party Building"; filming "Deep Sea Searching", he was admitted to the PADI diving license; filming "Wu Qingyuan", his Go has been able to suppress the professional three paragraphs... Humans could no longer stop Zhang Zhen. ”
Zhang Zhen in the movie "Wu Qingyuan" (2007)
Only later, Zhang Zhen himself stood up and clarified: he had not learned to dive, and the game of Go was only at an ordinary level.
Most of the time he just thinks it's funny: "I want to try everything, it doesn't matter if I don't learn well, anyway, my job is an actor, this is my way out." 」 ”
For him, life is always the first, filming second.
Compared with Zhang Zhen, who always put his life first, Zhou Runfa began to return to life in the past two years: the past desperate Sanlang began to slow down.
Once he could make six films a year, he now comes out with a new film in a year or two.
At this time, Zhou Runfa no longer needs to consider his status as a jianghu, and at more than half a hundred years old, he will allocate more time to the things he likes.
In 2008, Zhou Runfa held two photography exhibitions in a row, one of which was his favorite, which was secretly taking a makeup photo of Gong Li while shooting "The Golden Armor in the City".
Zhou Runfa's photographic work: Gong Li in "Full of Golden Armor"
After the exhibition, he donated all the money from the auction photos to the "Yanran Foundation" initiated by Faye Wang and Li Yapeng. Leaving Vanity Fair, he began to give back to life.
After this, Chow also plans to donate 5.6 billion to charity: "The most important thing in life is not how much money you make, but to maintain a peaceful mind." ”
The thing is whisked away, and the merit and name are hidden deeply.
Zhou Runfa with his camera
In 2010, "Let the Bullets Fly", which gathered the three major film emperors of Ge You, Jiang Wen and Zhou Runfa, came out and was rated by the media as the best local work of that year.
The hegemon "Huang Silang", played by Zhou Runfa, was called by the media as the "most successful negative role" in his acting career.
Movie Let the Bullets Fly (2010)
From left to right: Zhou Runfa, Jiang Wen, Ge You
The gears of time rolled gently over each person and went in different directions.
Some people tend to be stable, but some people usher in the storm at the peak moment, such as Zhang Ziyi.
Later, recalling the end of 2009, Zhang Ziyi still felt that it was the darkest moment of his life.
From the "Splash Ink Gate" to the "Fraudulent Donation Gate", successive blows have put her in the midst of a large number of negative evaluations, and the "Snowflake Secret Fan" that was originally scheduled to be starred by her has also suffered a change of role, and her reputation has slipped at the speed of light.
Before this incident, there were exaggerated media descriptions: Zhang Ziyi's endorsement was more than that of all female celebrities in the mainland at that time.
After a series of scandals, major brands either divested or replaced billboards and left their ties.
In this way, Zhang Ziyi ushered in the biggest blow in the history of his career.
If Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in 2000 was a touchstone for Zhang Zhen's acting career. Then this year, Wong Kar-wai's "Generation of Grandmasters" finally made Zhang Zhen's piece of gold shine.
In "A Generation of Grandmasters", Zhang Zhen played the Eight Pole Quan Grandmaster "First Line Of Heaven", and he prepared for this movie for three years.
Later, Zhang Zhen recalled: "When I practiced in the first year, there was only pain, and in the second year, I began to feel uncomfortable without practicing, and in the third year, I could completely control it." ”
Zhang Zhen in the movie "A Generation of Grandmasters" (2013)
Later, before the film was released, Zhang Zhenxian won the national eight-pole boxing championship. Unfortunately, due to the needs of the plot, Zhang Zhen's clips were greatly deleted when they were released.
When asked by the reporter about this matter, director Wong Kar-wai replied: "It is difficult to buy a sound for thousands of dollars, it is the true intention of the knife, Zhang Zhen is a good knife, let's hide it first." ”
In a word, Zhang Zhen really ushered in the turning point of his career with an "embroidery spring knife".
In 2014, the movie "Embroidered Spring Knife" was released, becoming a dark horse rushed out of that year's summer file, and Shen Lian, played by Zhang Zhen, also gained a vote of fans. Zhang Zhen finally played the fire this time, and people also caught fire.
Liu Shishi and Zhang Zhen in the movie "Embroidered Spring Knife" (2014)
With "A Generation of Grandmasters", there is also Zhang Ziyi.
After the previous series of scandals, Zhang Ziyi ushered in a period of several years of lows, and the public was more concerned about her emotional scandals than her works.
In those years, the quality of her works was also high and low. From "Very Perfect" to "Dangerous Relationship", without exception, it is a poor reputation.
Film "Very Perfect" (2009)
Cecilia Cheung and Zhang Ziyi in the movie "Dangerous Relationship" (2012)
Zhang Ziyi seemed to be caught in a strange circle, and no one knew if she could make a comeback until she met the "Gong Er" in "Generation Grandmaster".
Zhang Ziyi in the movie "A Generation of Grandmasters" (2013)
Like Zhang Zhen, Zhang Ziyi and this character also "died" for three years.
In the end, with his superb acting skills in "A Generation of Grandmasters", Zhang Ziyi swept through various awards and won 12 trophies. She said: Thank you Wong Kar-wai, when I was most bitter, I met this role.
She understood that she was once again standing in the spotlight.
Zhang Ziyi in the movie "A Generation of Grandmasters"
In "A Generation of Grandmasters", Gong Er, who avenged her father, could no longer continue practicing her palms because of her health, and at the end of the story, she said: "Sixty-four hands I have forgotten." ”
In the movie, the jianghu story belonging to Gong Er has come to an end, and Zhang Ziyi outside the movie is also preparing to leave.
After seeing the premiere, she announced that she would not make martial arts films in the future: "I want to keep the most beautiful, or memorable, memories there forever." ”
Zhang Ziyi always knows what she wants.
Zhang Ziyi won the trophy with "A Generation of Grandmasters"
While Ang Lee's "children" continued to reach their peaks, Ang Lee won his third little golden man.
At this time, 13 years after he won the first Oscar with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Ang Lee will still be nervous before the awards ceremony begins.
In 2013, Ang Lee won four awards at the 85th Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Creative for "The Fantasy Drifting of Young Pi".
When the dust settled, Ang Lee held his little golden man standing on the side of the road eating a hamburger, which became a famous scene in the film industry that year.
Ang Lee never thought that he who stood on the top of the mountain with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" would turn over one mountain after another in the days to come.
Those who had "hidden" and "lying" in that bamboo forest had finally become "tigers" and "dragons".
Everything went to the top unexpectedly, but it went downhill unexpectedly.
In the same year, Ang Lee and Zhang Ziyi met again at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, and the time seemed to go back to 2000, when Ang Lee and Zhang Ziyi stepped on the red carpet of Cannes hand in hand with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
Zhang Ziyi and Ang Lee at the 66th Cannes Film Festival (2013)
On the same day, Zhang Ziyi also recorded the meeting on Weibo, and she said that I seemed to have changed back into the child in his arms.
Zhang Ziyi Weibo
Also in this year, the 36-year-old Zhang Ziyi got married, not for hong Kong billionaire Huo Qishan, nor for CCTV host Sabine, but for rock singer Wang Feng.
On January 1, 2020, Zhang Ziyi gave birth to her second child
Zhang Zhen became a father, and at the age of 39, he began to divide the two days of the week for his children, and became more cautious in the selection of works: I hope that the things I shoot can be seen by children.
Zhang Zhen and daughter
The 60-year-old Chow Yun-fat and Wang Jing once again filmed "Macau Storm", which played a gimmick of "interpreting the god of gambling in the new era", but the reputation was still flat.
Movie "Macau Storm" (2014)
At the end of 2015, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" was released, and the director was replaced by Ang Lee to the martial arts director Yuan Heping in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" that year, and all the leading actors of that year only Yang Ziqiong returned.
At this time, Yang Ziqiong was 53 years old.
After "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", she began to try to transform, participating in a series of literary and artistic films such as "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Yellowstone's Child", and this time it was her return to martial arts films.
Yang Ziqiong in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" (2015)
But she also knew in her heart that with the first pearl jade in front, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" would most likely be a thankless work.
Sure enough, even though the story of the first part was continued, Zhen Zidan was invited to sit, but the audience did not buy it. The media relentlessly commented on the film: "Only the framework was moved, not the essence."
The beauty and zen that belonged to the previous game have long disappeared, leaving only the fighting scene of the sword and light sword shadow.
Everyone seemed to want to go back to the bamboo forest again, but everything could not go back.
That piece of green bamboo and green chivalrous rivers and lakes is difficult to reproduce after all.
In 2019, "Twin Killers" was released. Douban netizens, who have always been full of good feelings for Ang Lee, only gave a rating of 6.9 this time - becoming the penultimate score of Ang Lee's works.
In fact, this kind of doubt has been around since Ang Lee's last film, Billy Lynn's Halftime Battle, and what the two films have in common is Ang Lee's insistence on 120 frames (playing 120 frames per second to make the film clearer and more coherent).
However, whether from the box office or word of mouth, it has not achieved the expected effect.
Ang Lee himself was also caught in doubt: "I don't know if I have opened a new hope or stabbed a new basket." ”
Ang Lee and Twin Killers starring Will Smith (2019)
Because of the breakthrough that was pushed to the cusp of the storm, there was Zhang Ziyi.
In recent years, with the rise of entertainment programs in the mainland, from Jay Chou as the mentor of "The Voice of China" to Faye Wong starring in "City of Illusion", big-name stars have begun to test the waters of variety shows.
Zhang Ziyi also began to enter the variety industry, she first participated in "The Birth of an Actor", and then teamed up with her husband Wang Feng to star in "The Wife's Romantic Trip".
Variety Show "The Birth of an Actor" (2017)
Variety Show "Wife's Romantic Trip" (2019)
In addition to acting in variety shows, she also began to dabble in TV dramas, and the news that she will participate in the big IP costume TV series "Emperor Huangye" is even more a stone to stir up thousands of waves.
Some even questioned the veracity of the message. After all, with a status like Zhang Ziyi, how could she possibly make a TV series.
The entry for "Emperor Huangye" on the "Douban Movie"
Coincidentally, after Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Zhen, a "pure movie café", also announced that he would "go to the sea" to act in a TV series.
As soon as the trailer he co-produced with Ni Ni on "Three Lives and Three Dynasties" was released, it caused an uproar among fans, and even more, zhang Zhen fell off the altar this time. After all, in the past, most of his works were unpopular and high-style literary films.
Zhang Zhen and Ni Ni in the TV series "Three Lives and Three Worlds" (2019)
Fortunately, the reputation of the TV series is acceptable, which has calmed some controversy.
Compared with the breakthrough and transformation of Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Zhen, Zhou Runfa is obviously more "Buddhist".
In 2018, the movie "Peerless" was released, which is also his only film in the past three years.
Zhou Runfa under the lens is dressed in white, the sword is not old, and the film also pays tribute to the classic shot of lighting a cigarette in 1986's "The True Colors of Heroes".
In the end, the film gained word-of-mouth and box office with its excellent conception and excellent acting skills.
Zhou Runfa in the movie "Peerless" (2018)
In the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Li Mubai, played by Zhou Runfa, has a classic line: "When you clench your hands, there is nothing inside." When you open your hands, the world is in your hands. ”
The same is true for Chow Yun-fat. He announced that he would donate his entire fortune: "This money is not mine, I only have it temporarily, and someone needs him more than I do." ”
He seemed to be gradually living into Li Mubai, but it seemed that he was getting farther and farther away from Li Mubai.
The rivers and lakes are far away, and the heroes are still there.
Time back to 20 years ago, the young Zhang Ziyi would secretly wipe away tears because he could not shoot a martial arts scene, Yang Ziqiong Chinese the line skills were too weak, and would always subconsciously look up while speaking.
Zhang Zhen asked the director to shoot the next shot 50 times, and Zhou Runfa could not say his lines while swinging his sword because his Mandarin was not good.
After 20 years, everything seems to have changed.
Zhou Runfa appeared less and less in the public eye; Zhang Ziyi got married and had children, and began to think of herself as "waking up her mother".
Zhang Zhen first became a father and began to consider the risk factor when choosing a movie; Yang Ziqiong appeared in the movie "Picking Gold", playing Mrs. Kuo.
Everything seems to have not changed again.
Zhang Zhen still puts life in the first place in life, Zhang Ziyi will always engrave stubbornness in his bones, Yang Ziqiong's martial arts status cannot be shaken, and Zhou Runfa represents an entire era as soon as he appears.
There are always people who lament that the hero is old, the jianghu is not there, and the kung fu film is the end of the road, but it is not.
Time passes, people come and go, but the rivers and lakes are always there.
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.